Fountain toothbrush



Ma rch 17, 1970. sK L ETAL- 3,501,243

FOUNTAIN Too'rHBRusH Filed Nov. ,9. 1966 INVENTORS 164 YMUND A. l/E/SKL'ZL By WILL/AM 4. ANDERSON ATTOKNEVS United States Patent 3,501,243FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Raymond H. Heiskell, 30 Laurel Court, San Mateo,Calif. 94402, and William A. Anderson, 1659 29th Ave., San Francisco,Calif. 94122. Filed Nov. 9, 1966, Ser. No. 593,023 Int. Cl. A46b 11/02US. Cl. 401-131 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved fountaintoothbrush having a replaceable dentifrice reservoir in the form of asimple toothpaste tube.

Many attempts have been made in the past to provide acceptable fountaintoothbrushes as indicated by the devices shown in the following US.patents: Wallace 1,610,831, Aiken 2,283,781, Bair 2,328,048, Lamonde2,527,741, Speig 2,621,352, and Rivero 2,900,650. These devices havebeen so complicated, however, and have operated so inefiiciently thatnone of the devices has enjoyed any substantial commercial success.

In accordance with this invention, we have now provided a very simplefountain toothbrush which operates much more efiiciently than thedevices known heretofore and which can be manufactured as economicallyas the presently available separate toothbrush and toothpaste tube.These advantages are obtained with our fountain toothbrush because weprovide a resiliently deformable dentifrice reservoir with means forintroducing air into the end of the reservoir opposite to the toothbrushbristles. Dentifrice may be dispensed from the reservoir simply bycompressing the reservoir, and when the reservoir is released, itexpands resiliently to draw in air. Since the air drawn into thereservoir is introduced into the upper end of the reservoir, thereservoir may be compressed repeatedly to dispense repeated quantitiesof dentifrice. During the subsequent uses, the air in the reservoir ispositioned away from the discharge end of the reservoir so that the airin the reservoir does not interfere with subsequent dispersingoperations, thereby permitting the entire quantity of dentifrice in thereservoir to be used.

In different forms of the invention, the air is introduced into theupper endof the reservoir'in diiferent ways. Direct mechanicalintroduction may be provided by providing a check valve in the upper endof the reservoir. Preferably, the check valve is formed as an integralblade of the resilient material forming the reservoir where the bladecloses to seal the upper end of the reservoir when the reservoir iscompressed and then opens to admit air into the reservoir, thuspermitting the reservoir to resume its original shape.

In the preferred form of the invention, air is introduced into the upperend of the reservoir by drawing air in through the discharge opening inthe bottom and providing a sutficient amount of a liquid diluent in thedentifrice in the reservoir that air bubbles will flow upwardly throughthe dentifrice'from the discharge opening. In this form of theinvention, the quantity of liquid diluent is controlled very carefullyso that the dentifrice will have a viscosity low enough to permit thisupward flow of air bubbles, but high enough to prevent the flow of thedentifrice out of the discharge opening in the lower end of thereservoir. I

In this preferred form of the invention, the mounting of the fountaintoothbrush in a brush-down position between uses is particularlyimportant in providing efiicient operation because the dentifrice alwaysflows toward the 3,501,243 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 discharge openingduring periods between uses of the device.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description read in conjunction with the attached drawingin which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of the fountain toothbrush of thisinvention illustrating in phantom outline the brush portion of thefountain toothbrush within the base of the device;

, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the fountain toothbrush of FIG.1, taken along the plane 2-2 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the condition inwhich the device is sold;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the fountain toothbrush of FIGS.1 and 2 illustrating the manner in which the device is used, and;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a fragment of an alternative form of theinvention illustrating a check valve for mechanically introducing airinto the upper end of the dentifrice reservoir. v

Referring now in detail to the drawing and particularly to FIG. 1, thepreferred form of our invention illustrated therein includes a rigidbase 10 having an interior chamber 12 provided with vent ports 14. Thebase .10' has four integrally formed feet 16 by which the device issupported in upright position on any horizontal surface. The upper endof the base 10 has a mouth 18 in which the remainder of the componentsmay be mounted.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fountain toothbrush includes adentifrice reservoir 20 which is removably mounted in mouth 18 of thebase 10. The dentifrice reservoir 20 is formed of a vapor imperviousplastic rna terial which is resiliently deformable so that the reservoirmay be compressed as illustrated in solid lines in FIG. 3, but willreturn to its original shape under the influence of its own resiliencyas illustrated in phantom outline in FIG. 3. Suitable plastic materialsfrom which the reservoir may be made include relatively thick layers ofpolyvinyl chloride or isotactic polypropylene 22 preferably covered onthe inside by a layer 24 of a barrier material such as the plastics soldby the Dow Chemical Company under the trademark Saran. A body ofdentifrice 26 explained in greater detail hereinafter is provided in thereservoir 20 and dispensed from the reservoir during use of the device.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the lower end of the reservoir the neck 28 inplace of the closure cap 32 when the device is to be used. Thetoothbrush 32 has two rowsof bristles 36 converging toward each otherwith a passage way 38 extending from between the bristles 36 to thethreaded portion 34 of the toothbrush in communication with the interiorof the reservoir 20 as illustrated in FIG. 3;

As indicated above, the body of toothpaste 26 is blended with asufiicient quantity of liquid diluent so that air bubbles in the body ofdentifrice 26 will flow upwardly in the cavity 20 while the dentifrice26 will not flow downwardly through the passageway 38 under theinfluence of gravity alone. The liquid diluent which is employed ispreferably water, and the quantity of diluent used should be selectedcarefully to give a viscosity for the dentifrice which is within thelimits indicated above. Since dentifrices used in devices of this typeare non-Newtonian fluids, it is difiicult to define the preciseviscosity of the dentifrice in a way which is reproduceableexperimentally. However, the desired viscosity of the dentifrice hasbeen determined employing a Brookfield viscosimeter using spindle #7rotating at six revolutions per minute. Under these conditions, foursamples of dentifrice were tested for viscosity as follows:

Example No.: Viscosity (centipoises) 1 287,000 2 224,000 3 140,000 430,000

Example #1 is the viscosity of a commercially available toothpaste soldunder the trademark Colgate, and this dentifrice is much too viscous forany practical use in the fountain toothbrush of FIGS. l-3. Thedentifrice of Example #2 is the same dentifrice tested in Example #1 butdiluted with water to provide a moderately heavy flowable paste. Theviscosity of the dentifrice forming Example #2. is SllfilClCIltlY highthat the dentifrice is too viscous for use in a device where thediameter of the passageway 38 is one-sixteenth of an inch, but thedentifrice tested in Example #2 is sufliciently fluid to be used wherethe diameter of the passageway 38 is one-eighth of an inch. Thedentifrice tested in Example #3 is the same dentifrice further dilutedwith water, and the Viscosity of this dentifrice is usable in thefountain toothbrush of FIG. 3 where the diameter of the passageway 38 iseither one-sixteenth or one-eighth of an inch. The dentifrice tested inExample #4 is the same dentifrice further diluted with water to a verylow viscosity. This dentifrice is too fluid for use with a passageway 38of one-eighth inch diameter, and the viscosity of the dentifrice formingExample #4 approaches the lower limit of viscosity which is usable inthe device of FIG. 3.

The fountain toothbrush of FIG. 3 is used as follows: the base portionis removed from the reservoir 20, thereby exposing the brush 36 for use.The reservoir is resiliently compressed to expel the dentifrice 26through the passageway 38 into the brush 36 responsive to the internalpressure in the reservoir. When the desired quantity of dentifrice hasbeen dispensed, the pressure on the reservoir 20 is released to permitthe reservoir to expand resiliently and thereby draw air through thepassageway 38 up into the reservoir 20. This compression and release ofthe reservoir may be accom lished prior to or during use of the device,and when use of the device has been completed, the brush 36 and the neck28 of the reservoir 20 are inserted again into the neck 18 of the basemember 10 to support the device in brush-down condition until its nextperiod of use. In this condition, the bristles 36 are ventilated by airpassing through the ports 14, and air bubbles which were introduced intothe a reservoir 20 when it was decompressed flow upwardly under theinfluence of the viscosity conditions mentioned above.

With reference to FIG. 4, an alternative form of the device isillustrated in which the reservoir 20 is provided with a port 40 in theupper end thereof communicating with a pocket of air 42 above the bodyof dentifrice 26. A blade of plastic material 44 is integrally formedwith the reservoir 20 at one edge of the opening 40 and extends acrossthe opening 40 to act as a check valve. The blade 44 moves resilientlyto the dotted line position illustrated at 44' to admit air directlyinto the upper end of the reservoir 20 when the walls of the reservoirare released after compression, and when the reservoir 20 is compressedto expel dentifrice therefrom, the blade 44 seats against the interiorsurfaces of the reservoir around the port 40. Preferably, the reservoir20 and blade 40 are integrally molded at the same time and are connectedduring the molding operation by a thin frangible skin of plastic whichrenders the reservoir 20 air-tight during the shelf life when it isstored prior to sale.

With respect to the FIG. 4 embodiment of the invention, it will beappreciated that a conventional toothpaste having conventional fluidityor viscosity characteristics 4 may be employed inasmuch as it is notrequired that air get into reservoir 20 through the body 26 of thedentifrice.

While certain specific embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described in detail herein, it is obvious that manymodifications thereof may be .made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A fountain toothbrush comprising:

(A) a first body having a base adapted to engage a support surface andstably support said first body in an upright position between uses ofsaid toothbrush, said first body having;

(1) an internal chamber having an inner end;

and,

(2) an upwardly extending mouth communicating with said chamber;

(B) a second body removably mounted in said mouth and having;

(1) a neck portion;

(2) an elongated handle portion having an interior cavity communicatingwith said neck portion, said handle portion being formed of aresiliently deformable material; and,

(3) a toothbrush connected to said neck portion against endwise movementrelative to said neck portion and positioned in said chamber, saidtoothbrush having;

(a) a group of bristles mounted thereon remote from said neck portion,said bristles being disposed adjacent the inner end of said internalchamber of said first body; and,

(b) a passageway extending from said group of bristles into said cavitythrough said neck portion, said passageway having a cross-sectional arealess than the cross-sectional area of said cavity;

(C) a body of fluid dentifrice in said cavity; and,

(D) means, operable when said second body is mounted in said mouth andwhen the base of said first body is engaging a support surface andstably supporting said first body in an upright position, to introduceair into said cavity above said body of dentifrice.

2. The fountain toothbrush of claim 1 in which said means forintroducing air into said cavity above said body of dentifrice comprisesa check valve in said handle portion of said second body, said valvebeing located at that side of said body of dentifrice which is oppositeto said neck portion and being adapted to prevent the flow of fluiddentifrice out of said cavity through said valve while permitting theflow of air into said cavity through said valve.

3. The fountain toothbrush of claim 1 in which said means forintroducing air into said cavity above said body of dentifrice comprisesa liquid diluent in said dentifrce which imparts to said dentifrice aviscosity which is sufficiently high that said dentifrice will not Howdownwardly through said passageway due to gravity alone but sufficientlylow that air bubbles will flow upwardly through said dentifrice fromsaid passageway.

4. The fountain toothbrush of claim 1 in which said threaded neckportion and said elongated handle portion with said body of fluiddentifrice therein constitute a removable and replaceable toothpastetube mounted on said toothbrush.

5. A dentifrice reservoir comprising a container with first and secondends and fluid impervious resiliently deformable side walls extendingbetween said ends, a body of dentifrice in said container, and adischarge opening in one of said ends of said container having across-sectional area substantially smaller than the cross-sectional areaof said container, said dentifrice containing a liquid diluent in asufficient quantity to impart to said dentrifrice a viscosity which issufficiently high that said dentifrice will not flow downwardly throughsaid discharge open- 2,321,265 6/1943 Ulvick 401-131 ing due to gravityalone but sufliciently low that air bub- 3, 84,779 5/1965 Lloyd 401183bles in said dentifrice will flow upwardly through said dentifrice fromsaid passaggway LAWRENCE CHARLES, Prlmary Examiner 5 US. 01. X.R.References Cited 4O1 184 UNITED STATES PATENTS 886,984 5/1908 Jopling401-483 3,353,898 11/1967 Lam-berti 401-291 10

